function [area] = cov_area(cov,N)

[~,L] = eig(cov);

% For N standard deviations spread of data, the radii of the eliipsoid will
% be given by N*SQRT(eigenvalues).

%N = 3; % choose your own N

d=diag(L);
inda=find(max(d)==d);
indb=find(min(d)==d);
a=N*sqrt(d(inda(1)));
b=N*sqrt(d(indb(1)));
area = pi * a * b;